The Presidency on Wednesday said the absence of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima does not pose any vacuum in Nigeria’s leadership.
It said the two principal officers are “fully engaged with the nation’s affairs, even while away.”
Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, argued this in a statement he signed, titled, ‘There is no vacuum in leadership as the President and VP are out of the country.’
Tinubu departed for the United Kingdom on October 2, 2024, for a two-week working leave. He later left the UK for France on Friday, October 11, for “another important engagement,” his Senior Special Assistant on Political and Other Matters, Ibrahim Masari, tweeted.
Meanwhile, Shettima left Abuja on Wednesday for Sweden on a two-day visit to represent Nigeria in bilateral engagements with the Scandinavian nation.
This marks the second time both officers have been concurrently absent from the country since assuming office 17 months ago.
Between late April and early May 2024, while Tinubu was in London, after visiting the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, where he attended the World Economic Forum, Shettima left Nigeria, first to Nairobi to attend the International Development Association Heads of State Summit.
After returning, he left for Dallas, Texas, to attend the US-Africa Business Summit organised by the Corporate Council on Africa. However, the VP cancelled his trip midway and returned to the country.
President Tinubu returned to Abuja on 8 May.
“During this time, the government’s machinery did not halt,” Onanuga said in his statement, adding, “It is important to note that the President and Vice President are fully engaged with the nation’s affairs, even while they are away. There is no leadership vacuum in the country.”
The Presidency noted that during his two-week working vacation, the President has been “busy answering phones and issuing directives on matters of state. He will soon return to the country before the vacation officially expires.”
In the meantime, it said, “All state organs are functioning as usual. The Senate President, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Ministers, and Service Chiefs are all in their respective positions, ensuring the smooth operation of the government.
“The Constitution, a testament to our adaptability in the virtual age, does not explicitly require the physical presence of either the president or the vice president in the country at all times to fulfil his duties.”
Onanuga drew parallels with similar instances in the Buhari administration. In 2022, the former President and his deputy, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, were simultaneously out of the country.
President Buhari attended UNGA 77, while Osinbajo participated in the burial of Queen Elizabeth ll.
In their first 100 days in office, Tinubu and Shettima spent 28 days abroad, visiting over nine countries.
